Apparatus for feeding carbon interleaved sheets to typewriters and like imprinting machines



March 13, 1952 J. w. RANDALL 2,590,037

APPARATUS FOR FEEDING CARBON INTERLEAVED SHEETS TO TYPEWRITERS AND LIKEIMPRINTING MACHINES Filed Aug. 5, 1947 In entor Attorney Patented Mar.18, 1952 I APPARATUS FOR FEEDING CARBON INTER- LEAVED SHEETS TOTYPEWRITERS AND LIKE IMPRINTING MACHINES John William Randall, HemelHempstead, England, assignor to John Dickinson & Co. Limited, HemelHempstead, England, a British company Application August 5, 1947, SerialNo. 766,290 In Great Britain June 14, 1945 Section 1, Public Law 690,August 8, 1946 Patent expires June 14, 1965 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved apparatus for feeding carboninterleaved typescript paper to typewriters or the like imprintingmachines, and has particular reference to an improved means for feedinga relatively continuous supply of webs of typescript paper whiletemporarily retaining the interleaved carbon sheets clear of the platenroller. By this means, the said carbon sheets may be used repetitivelywithout removal from the interleaved typescript paper.

The invention consists in combination with a frame or body adapted tosupport the paper and clamping means therefor, of means for guiding thesaid paper which may be in the form of a transverse spindle or spigotson which is mounted a rotatable sleeve or roller, discs or side guides,which can be adjustably positioned to form lateral guides for thetypescript paper as it enters the frame and passes to the feed mechanismof the typewriter or the like imprinting machine, and catches fortemporarily checking the forward movement of the carbon sheet carrier.

The aforementioned catches are pivotally mounted preferably on the saidframe or body and adapted to engage and constitute a temporary check forthe carbon carrier, whereby at intermittent periods the carbon sheetsare held against forward traverse to the typewriter or the likeimprinting machine, while the feed of the typescript paper may becontinued.

The said catches are arranged so as to be capable of retaining theinterleaved carbon sheets against the normal friction of the typescriptpaper during the period in which the said typescript paper is being fedforward between the feed and platen rollers. Forward feed continuesuntil the typescript paper can be severed, e. g. along a line ofperforations, from the succeeding webs if it is intended to separate thewebs into individual sheets.

At this stage the carbon sheets are already interleaved with a freshsupply of typescript paper and to bring the complete assembly into thetyping position a slight downward pressure is applied which engages thesaid asseni ly in the nip of the feed and platen rollers.

The pull of the said feed and platen rollers on the interleavedtypescript paper and carbon sheets exerts a force which overcomes thebalancing arrangement of the said catches.

In order to overcome certain difficulties which occur when using papersand carbon sheets having different frictional characteristics, I proposeusing catches of novel construction by providing 2 them withcounterweight means which can be adjusted to give varying resistancesaccording to the type of paper or carbon sheets being used.

Various methods can be applied in the construction of the said catchesto provide adjustment for the counterweight means. For instance, thecatches may be provided with spigots on which weights are adjustablymounted. Alternatively, an adjustable bar or rod may be used. It will beappreciated that the return action of the catches could be achieved bymeans of loading springs which, if desired, may be adapted foradjustment for correcting the tension or compression to suit individualrequirements.

In a preferred constructional form of the invention, the support framewould be of a corrugated nature. It will be readily understood that thetypescript paper will then assume a position compatible to that of thecorrugations of the said support frame and in assuming this positionwill be made considerably more rigid in a direction parallel to thecorrugations. This is of particular advantage when the platen roller ofthe typewriter or the like imprinting machine is reversed during theoperation as hereinafter described.

In order to facilitate correct locating of the webs when ready forseverance, a movable pointer or the like may be affixed at a convenientposition on or adjacent to the support frame.

In cases where the apparatus is in the form of an attachment totypewriters or the like machines, the support frame is mounted bysuitable means on the sliding platen roller carriage preferably on thepaper rest.

For attaching the'said support frame to the said paper rest, we mayprovide novel clamping means which are transversely adjustable to suitmost of the well known typewriters.

In some cases where the said paper rest is of particularly lightconstruction, or where the said paper rest is pivotally mounted, theclamp may be designed to give greater rigidity by being provided with anextension constructed to contact a more robust section of the slidingplaten roller carriage.

The clamping means for the said support frame would be preferablypositioned along the lower edge thereof and may be adjusted inwardlyfrom the extreme side edges of the said support plate, e. g. along atransverse rail or rails, so as to allow the use of the adjustable paperside guides which usually constitute a part of the standard equipment ontypewriters or the like imprinting machines.

asoopsr Referring to the construction illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, theframe or body shown by' the numeral I is provided with a transversespindle or spigots 2 on which is mounted a rotatable sleeve or roller 3,adjustable members 4 being adapted to guide the webs over theaforementioned rotatable sleeve or roller.

In the preferred form as shown the members 4 are mounted on the top edgeof the frame or body member I and are provided with extensions whichencircle the rotatable sleeve or roller 3 and function as guides for thewebs. Alternatively, the guide members may be in the form of discsadjustably mounted on the rotatable sleeve or roller. Catches 5 capableof retaining the carbon sheet holder 25 and the interleaved carbonsheets in order to hold back the carbon sheets during the period inwhich the said typescript paper is being fed forward between the feedplaten rollers, are pivotally mounted on an assembly arranged forvertical adjustment relative to the frame or body. Stop members 6 areprovided above the catches to prevent the carbon sheet holderover-riding the end of the frame or body I. The said catches aredesigned to accommodate weights I which can be adjusted to give varyingresistances according to the type of paper or carbon sheets being used.In the form shown in Figs. 1 and 2 the weights 1 are applied separatelyto each catch device; alternatively, the weights may be replaced by arod or bar linking both catches 5. As a further alternative (as shown inFig. 3) the return action of the catches 5 may be accomplished bysprings attached at one end to extensions I4 and at the reverse end totension adjusting screws I3 provided with adjusting nuts I7 and IS. Thefree ends of the screws I6 pass through anchoring arms I9 which areafilxed to the movable assembly for adjustment with the catches 5. Thearms I9 may also be linked by a transverse bar. The catch devices shownin Figs. 1, 2' and 3, are adjustable along the slots 8, Fig. 1, topermit the use of varying lengths of carbon carriers differentlyinterleaved in the webs, suitable to the size of forms of which the websare composed.

To add to the rigidity of the paper when the webs are reversed forclearing carbons from the completely typed portions thereof, a raised orcorrugated portion 9 is embodied in the plate. The pointer I0 may alsobe adjustably mounted upon the edge of the frame I to indicate the endof thesheets when they are ready for severance.

The whole fitment is attached to the existing paper rest 2| of thetypewriter (see Fig. 4), by means of clamps II attached to bars I2 andI3 to permit of transverse adjustment of the clamps.

When additional support for the fitment is necessary, a strut as shownin Fig. 4 is attached to the clamp member I I, said strut bearing uponor gripping a stable member on the carriage of the typewriter or likemachine.

As illustrated in Fig. 4, the interleaved typescript webs of paper 24are pulled over the rotatable sleeve or roller 3 by means of the feedrolls 22 and platen 23 of the typewriter.

The operation of the apparatus when mounted on a typewriter or the likemachine and provided with a supply of typescript paper and carbon sheetsarranged for continuous web feed is as follows:

It will be appreciated that initially the carbon sheets are interleavedwith the typescript paper in such a manner that the first run of paperinto the machine is fed forward with the interleaved carbon sheets as aunit.

When the first sheet has been typed the platen roller is reversed andthe typescript paper together with the interleaved carbon sheets is fedback until the lower edge of the carbon sheet holder extensions 2'5 orother carbon sheet holder supporting means pass beyond the shouldersformed in the configuration of the catches, before referred to (as shownin Fig. 4). At this stage the lower edges of the carbon sheets are freefrom the grip of the feed and platen rollers, and forward motion of thetypescript paper can be resumed.

The retention of the carbon sheet holder device and carbon sheets by thecatches 5 enables the typescript webs to be drawn forward between theplaten 23 and rollers 22 until the end or severing line of the typedportions or sheets of the webs, e. g. the transverse perforationsbetween these sheets and the remainder of the webs, are brought intoalignment with the pointers I0. At this stage the carbon sheets havebecome interleaved with the next succeeding sheet portions of thetypescript webs and it is necessary merely to engage the leading edgesof the carbon sheets by applying pressure to draw these edges intoengagement with the platen 23 and rollers 22. The pull exerted upon theinterleaved sheets is sufficient to overcome the resistance of thecatches 5 which thereupon yield to release the carbon sheet holder sothat the carbon sheets are free to move with the typescript webswhereupon the forward motion is continued until the typed sheets arefreed for severance leaving succeeding sheets in a position ready fortyping.

I claim:

1. A carbon sheet holder for use with a carbon sheet carrier interleavedwith multiple sheeted webs of relatively continuous stationery on. amanifolding machine, said holder comprising a frame and means to clampthe same to a manifolding machine in a rearwardly and upwardly slopingposition, guiding means on said frame to guide the webs thereon down tothe platen of the machine, and self-releasable counter-balanced catcheson the sides of the frame and having shoulders normally positioned inthe path of movement of the carbon sheet carrier for temporarilychecking forward movement of the carbon sheets, the catches releasingthe carrier by movement of the catches against the influence of thecounterbalance to disengage the shoulders and carrier in response to a.slight forward pull exerted by the operator upon the webs andinterleaved carbon sheets, said catches being sloped on their forwardfaces to allow the carrier to ride thereover when the feed of the websis reversed to again temporarily hold the carrier from forward feedingwith the webs.

2. The carbon sheet holder of claim 1, including stops along the sidesof the frame above the catches to revent the movement of the carriertherebeyond.

3. The carbon sheet holder of claim 1, in which the frame islongitudinally centrally corrugated. to curve the Webs passing thereoverto stiffen them and facilitate their upward reverse movement.

4. The carbon sheet holder of claim 1, in which said catches arevertically adjustable alongJ'the sides of the frame to accommodatedifferent lengths into which the webs are to be divided. 5. The carbonsheet holder of claim 1, including means whereby the holding force ofsaid catches may be varied whereby, prior to their self-release, theywill hold carbon paper of different surface characteristics.

JOHN WILLIAM RANDALL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Number Great Britain 1940

